Boveney

Boveney
St Mary Magdalene Church, Boveney
Boveney Location within Buckinghamshire
OS grid reference	SU938777
Civil parish	Dorney
Unitary authority	Buckinghamshire
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Windsor
Postcode district	SL4
Dialling code	01753
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Beaconsfield
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 51°29′25″N0°38′53″W / 51.490414°N 0.648069°W / 51.490414; -0.648069

Boveney is a village in the civil parish of Dorney, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated near Windsor, between the villages of Eton Wick in Berkshire, and Dorney and Dorney Reach in Buckinghamshire. Since boundary changes in 1974 and 1995, Boveney is now the southernmost village in Buckinghamshire.

Origin of name

The village name is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means "above island". This refers to the island in the River Thames next to the village. The Anglo-Saxon name for the village was Bufanege.

History

Boveney historically formed a chapelry of the ancient parish of Burnham. Parish functions under the poor laws from the 17th century onwards were administered separately for the chapelry of Boveney and the rest of Burnham parish. As such, Boveney became a separate civil parish in 1866 when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws. ^[1] Boveney was part of Eton Rural District from 1894 to 1934. ^[2]

The parish was abolished in 1934. The north-east of the old parish, which included part of the built up area of Eton Wick, was transferred to Eton Urban District. The remainder of the old parish was added to the parish of Dorney. ^[3] At the 1931 census (the last before the abolition of the parish), Boveney had a population of 630. ^[4]

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is in a remote part of the village by the River Thames. In 1983 the church was declared redundant and vested in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches, who repair and conserve it for visitors and local people to enjoy. ^[5] In 2004 a major campaign was undertaken to repair the 14th century timber-framed tower and a further programme of repairs was planned for 2007, so the church was closed to visitors.

Dorney Common, which borders the village, is one of several locations to view Windsor Castle from outside the town of Windsor itself; the large open space affords panoramic views of the castle as well as parts of Eton.

In literature

The village is twice briefly mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome's book Three Men in a Boat (1889). ^[6]

Filming location

Many TV and film companies use the village as a location.

The Church of St Mary Magdalene was used as a location for many Hammer Horror movies which were made at nearby Bray Studios. The Inspector Morse episode Silent World of Nicholas Quinn and the Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves were partly filmed here. The signpost for the village appeared very briefly in the 1976 Sweeney episode "I Want the Man" as a white Mercedes Benz limousine turns left towards the village (06m 48secs standard Freemantle DVD).

Gallery

• 
  Boveney Lock
• 
  Lock Keeper's House
• 
  Houses in Boveney

References

1. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume I, Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. xvi, 32. ISBN   0901050679.
2. "History of Boveney, in South Bucks and Buckinghamshire". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
3. "Relationships and changes Boveney ParLib/Ch/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
4. "Population statistics Boveney ParLib/Ch/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 9 August 2023.
5. "St Mary's Boveney". Friends of Friendless Churches. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011.
6. Jerome, Jerome K. (1889). Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) . J. W. Arrowsmith. OCLC   4020252. This really happened once to my own knowledge. It was up by Boveney, one rather windy morning. We were pulling down stream, and, as we came round the bend, we noticed a couple of men on the bank.

• Parish History of Boveney

External links

• Friends of Friendless Churches
• US site with Church Pictures ^{[ usurped ]}